The Hui-chi

Another nanocoid adventure.

Back in 2016, I introduced an alien-human hybrid called the Tre. "The Tre are a strange breed...  part Majar, part Rhune, part something else." That something else are the Hui-chi, a hybrid that has genes from the Iidi, the Fwai-chi and humans. The Fwai-chi, Rhunes, the planet Marune and Alastor star cluster were all creations of Jack Vance. Other residents of Alastor Cluster such as the Iidi (also first mentioned in 2016) and the Tre are my fan-fiction additions to Vance's imagined future.

As told in "Meet the Phari" (below), by making use of special genetic patterns obtained from the Lavany embryo, two telepathic mind clones are made on the planet Marune. One is the daughter of a Rhune, Maerio, the other is the grandchild of a Hui-chi hermaphrodite named Tuttuhr. Tuttuhr the Hui-chi is introduced to readers in Chapter 1 of "Meet the Phari", below on this page, but first I have some introductory comments about the setting of the story.

"Meet the Phari" introduction comic

The Hui-chi have yellow skin and long pointy ears and typically have some degree of telepathic powers. They are part of an on-going effort (see "The Alastor Network") to find special alien gene combinations and patterns that when placed into humans will result in great telepathic abilities and allow for development of a stable human society of telepaths.

"Meet the Phari" includes some of the characters who were introduced in The Alastor Network. However. "Meet the Phari introduces many new characters, starting with Tuttuhr, who along with the rest of the Hui-chi have been living in secret underground cities of Marune, but the Hui-chi will soon come out into the open. You can look at a video teaser or an introductory comic strip before starting to read the story (the first chapter is below, on this page).

 

Rob-B (left). This image was made by using
Zoey02, FynnAndHer and CyberGirl01 by
Eclesi4stiK available under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

The Phari were the first human-like species to arise in our galaxy, but they have long ago transcended into the Hierion Domain where they now exist as artificial lifeforms. In the Asimov Reality, the Phari constructed Alastor Cluster, a kind of archive for all the human-like species that evolved in our galaxy during the past two billion years. Now that human mind clones exist, it is becoming possible, for the first time, for humans to make use of the Bimanoid Interface and initiate meaningful communication with the Phari.

Some of the characters in "Meet the Phari" are robots (such as Rob-B, shown in the image to the right), some are other forms of artificial life such as replicoids and some are biological organisms.

Image credits: "Snowy landscape"
by Aled Jones and "Fi in Mountains"
by Henry1850 (CC BY-NC 3.0).

Other human-alien hybrids in addition to the Hui-chi appear as characters in "Meet the Phari". One such hybrid with powerful telepathic abilities and a special ability to look into the future was created by mixing together genes obtained from several sources: the Pheni, the Phasi, the Prelands and the Phet. This type of hybrid creature is called the Phyphy, pronounced "fifi".

The Phasi are an ancient form of artificial life from Kwenslo, a type of devolved Pharazen with oracular telepathic ability to see the future. The Phasi were designed so as to make use of nanoscopic replicoids called nanocoids, which allow them access to information within the Sedronic Domain. That information can be from both the far past and the far future (see Chapter 11). Now, as told in "Meet the Phari", Grean the Kac'hin is experimenting with nanocoids inside human hosts.

Delpha and Grean in the Asimov Reality

Grean grew up with her selfie, Delpha.

  Grean is a biological organism, a Kac'hin, although her selfie, Delpha, often visits humans and pretends to be Grean. During the long process during which R. Gohrlay and R. Nyrtia worked to develop human telepathy in the future of the Asimov Reality, about every 300 years a new "copy" of Grean ("New Grean") was made as a teleportation duplicate by Delpha. Grean's old memories were transferred to the younger copy of Grean in the form of infites. 

 

At the time described in Jack Vance's Alastor Cluster novels, Grean undergoes one such periodic renewal of her biological body. Grean and Delpha have previously become friends with Tuttuhr the Hui-chi and a Phyphy called Raundellysh. At the beginning of part 1 of "Meet the Phari" (below), Tuttuhr and Rau are planning New Grean's birthday clusterday party.

Wraparound cover for Meet the Phari (a scene from Chapter 12). This image made with Elena17
   by Eclesi4stiK which is available under the CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license.

Raundellysh. This image made with Lyari1 by
Eclesi4stiK available under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.

⎯ Meet the Phari ؄

Part 1. A Tuttuhr Tale

Having been invited to the clusterday party as a last-minute replacement guest, Tuttuhr was trying to come up with a great gift for Grean. Her friend Raundellysh asked, "What, my gift idea is not good enough for you?"

Tuttuhr had been making use of the unique telepathic abilities of the Fwai-chi to examine how Rau's gift would impact the planet Marune. Tuttuhr scolded Rau, "I suspect you have overlooked some fine details, such as the importance of human twins... their power!"

Twinning was not part of Phyphy physiology and Rau conceded the point. "What do you mean by 'power'? Glinnes and Glay Hulden are twins... that is not good enough for you?"

blastipositor

"No. Only Glinnes gets a nanocoid?" Tuttuhr complained, "That makes no sense, and I don't know how you can begin to explain away that absurdity."

Rau had recently become something of an embryo implantation maven and patiently explained, "It is a high-tech trick. Delpha has been encouraging Old Grean to begin using blastipositors in creative ways. If you are careful and take your time, precision nanocoid transfer is possible, even in humans who have two ovaries attached to just one uterus. Glinnes and Glay will gestate together in the same uterus for 9 months, but Glay will not be effected by the nanocoid that gets implanted inside Glinnes."

Just like Grean, Tuttuhr and Rau were both hermaphrodites with two uteri, each attached to its own vagina and its own ovary. Tuttuhr said, "Eww! Humans are so disgusting." For a moment she contemplated with horror the idea of two fraternal twins, one male and one female, both gestating inside a single uterus, but then she suddenly saw that there actually was a pair of twins on Marune that were an integral part of Rau's gift to Grean. With that realization, Tuttuhr understood what the Fwai-chi were trying to show her and she also knew that this sly twist of the planned future would serve perfectly as a special addition to the clusterday gift for Grean. Tut burst out laughing and told Rau, "I have it! Okay, now we can go to the workshop." 

Replicoid Games
"The Arrival"

Tuttuhr and Rau were on separate planets located on opposite sides of Alastor Cluster. They were using the Phari Network so that they could chat about the party for Grean. Now they both activated the Bimanoid Interface transfer sequence that Delpha had taught them to use whenever they needed to move into their special replicoid bodies inside the Hierion Domain. While helping Delpha with missions and assignments on various worlds of the Cluster, it was convenient for operatives like Tut and Rau to make use of artificial bodies that were in many ways superior to the bodies of mere biological creatures. Tuttuhr and Rau both arrived at Grean's clusterday party within microseconds of each other, ready to celebrate the creation of a new copy of Grean in Alastor Cluster. So perfect were their replicoids that neither Tuttuhr or Rau ever noticed any changes when they were no longer in their biological bodies.

Delpha welcomed Tut and Rau to her workshop and then, seeing a mischievous glint in Tuttuhr's eye, she said, "What trouble are you two brewing up today?" Delpha was once again frustrated by Tuttuhr's ability to hide many of her thought processes from Delpha's telepathic inspection.

Rau pointed an accusing finger at Tuttuhr and said, "She's making some last minute change to the parents of our proposed nanocoid targets on Marune." Upon arriving in the workshop, Rau had quickly begun to sweat since Delpha had elevated the temperature inside the workshop in advance of anticipated naked sex play during Grean's party. Rau kicked off her knee-high boots and pushed them under the nearby teleportation platform.

 

With the approach of Grean's clusterday party, Delpha had originally suggested to Rau that she help make plans for how to assemble a specific 7-part nanocoid module with the help of New Grean during her party. Now, Delpha sighed and requested, "Please don't overly complicate this, Tut. Seven nanocoids is already enough to juggle. We want to entertain Grean today, not make her head spin." 

 

To avoid temporal paradoxes, Delpha had not even tried to explain to Rau how the lives of these seven nanocoid-directed residents of Alastor Cluster would play a major role in allowing humans to telepathically communicate with the Phari. And Tut was invited to the party simply to provide a source of fresh sexual excitement for Grean.

Just then, Grean arrived by teleportation and said, "Yes, please don't create some complex puzzle that will frustrate the new me." Grean stepped off of the teleportation platform. "I just spent the past few centuries battling the robotics problem and I'm mentally exhausted." Before teleporting in, Grean had been secretly listening to Rau and trying to get a sneak peek at what plans were being laid in Delpha's workshop. Grean despised the silly surprises that were often sprung on her at clusterday celebrations.

Sally Lanty's study of telepathic sashei.
This image made with EveRoom01,
 Elves03 and Redhead6 by
Eclesi4stiK available under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.

Rau laughed merrily and tried to assure Grean that all was going to go smoothly. "This will be fun and games!" Rau stepped close to Grean, placed a hand on her crotch and said, "I'll say, Grean games, knowing how much you like to play with the humans." Rau's hand had settled in at the top of Grean's genital groove and now she let her finger tips massage and stroke the glans of Grean's clitoris that could be felt through the thin silky fabric of her skirt. She was pleased to feel the spunky organ respond almost instantly and start to become engorged with blood.

Grean reached out and ran her fingers through Rau's pretty hair. Grean had long ago fallen in love with Rau after learning how sensitive she was to Phyphy sashei. Rau had a powerful ability to project her sexual desires and thoughts into the minds of other people, a talent known on worlds of Alastor Cluster as sashei. Grean closed her eyes and sighed as her erectile tissue stiffened and she muttered, "You know that I instinctively feel sorry for anyone who is not an hermaphrodite." Watching Rau and Grean touching each other, Tuttuhr felt warm and pulled off her shirt, tossing it on a nearby control panel of one of the time machines in Delpha's workshop.

Rau kissed Grean's mouth rather passionately and then said, "Yes, we all know how you endlessly take advantage of the poor binaries."

Viewing the future.

Grean's eyes flew open and she told Rau, "Don't blame me for any of the little sexual adventures that I have. Nyrtia is responsible for setting the tone in Alastor Cluster... it all goes back to deploying her hypersexual Asterothropes in the galaxy. I'm just picking up the pieces after that disaster."

"Fine, blame Nyrtia, particularly when she is not here to defend herself." Rau tried to imagine the mysterious ancient origins of the Asterothropes in Deep Time. "I suppose Nyrtia would pass the buck to the pek and blame them for creating the Prelands."

Grean did not agree, but she did not have the patience to explain to Rau that the Prelands were specifically designed to have reduced sensory systems as part of the process of developing a human variant that would willingly abandon life as biologicals and transmigrate into the Hierion Domain as an artificial lifeform. 

This image made with Elena17
and yennefer by
Eclesi4stiK available
under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.

Grean turned around in a 360 degree circle and complained, "Where is Eynta? I've been expecting the new me to try out her penis on Eynta's amazing magical vagina." Grean once again regretted her long standing agreement with Delpha that she would not use her Viewing equipment to examine the first two decades of her lives. Grean was looking speculatively at Tuttuhr who Grean knew only casually. Delpha wanted to start making use of Hui-chi familiarity with the mysterious ways of the Fwai-chi.

Tuttuhr slipped a hand inside Grean's skirt and said, "Anytime you are horny and can't find Eynta, I'd be happy to play with your penis. My vaginas might not be magical, but I try harder." Stroking gently with her finger tips, Tuttuhr tried to stimulate Grean's secondary erectile response that would enlarge the glans of her Kac'hin clitoris into its alternative penis conformation. While concentrating on that task, Tuttuhr felt a sexually charged telepathic signal arrive from Grean and Tuttuhr's penis quickly inflated to full size. Grean noticed the bulge of Tut's skirt caused by her erection; she had never previously seen Tuttuhr's penis and she was curious about its dimensions and eager to explore its features.

Rau said, "Sorry to shatter your expectations, Grean, but the new you will be very pleased with what Tut and I have planned for her first sexual experience here in the Cluster. And besides, Eynta is busy on Yerophet right now."

the magic of time travel

Grean suggested, "A small trip through Time could fix any scheduling problem."

Rau said rather testily, "Grean, please, don't flaunt your time travel skills... that is like eating a meal in front of starving people. I arranged this celebration using the tools available to me. What unfolds today is a bit like a surprise party in its details... time travel could ruin all our fun."

 

Delpha raised her hands and looked back and forth between Grean and Rau. "Ladies, if you don't mind, this is a party, not another chance for you to argue." Delpha knew that the love affair between Rau and Grean was reaching its natural end point after nearly a thousand years. "Let us begin the festivities!" Delpha hugged Rau and Grean hugged Tuttuhr and they began the celebration. Tuttuhr enthusiastically threw her arms around Grean and kissed her, wiggling her tongue around inside Grean's mouth. Tuttuhr's spiky little erect penis pressed against Grean belly through the fabric of Tut's skirt. The tip of Tut's penis started to emerge up through the skirt's waistband.

gharks

Delpha was trying to telepathically stimulate and monitor the rising level of sexual excitement being experienced by all the party attendees. Somewhat worried that the over-eager Tut might ejaculate on Grean, Delpha abruptly teleported the Old Grean away and said, "I'll bring the New Grean here in just a moment." With an arm still around Rau, Delpha turned to Tuttuhr, glanced first at her erect nipples then at the tip of her erect penis pushed proudly outward and upward against the resisting elastic waistband of her skirt and asked, "What are you planning to add to Rau's planned program for the party?"

Following Delpha's eyes, Tuttuhr looked down and then shyly adjuster her skirt so as to cover her erection. Glancing at Delpha, Tuttuhr replied, "Just a small cli... a small change. Dervas and Alferica are sisters who grew up together at Cloudscape Castle. Twins run in their family and Rau overlooked the fact that at this very moment Dervas is ovulating with both of her ovaries, producing two ripe eggs. I want Grean to make use of both of the egg cells, not just one."

Rau objected, "According to the visions of my Phasi, Dervas will only ever have just one child." Rau demanded of Tut, "How could you possibly know anything about the ovarian follicles of Dervas?"

Fwai-chi

"The Fwai-chi are an amazing source of information." Tuttuhr had long enjoyed her telepathic linkages to the Fwai-chi and what she learned from them. "Yes, Dervas should only raise one child. I didn't find a way to change the sad life of poor Dervas, although I feel very sorry for her." She had one more thing to tell Rau, "I simply want Grean to gestate a second embryo along with the one that you have already planned for."

Delpha chuckled. "I see." She was impressed by Tuttuhr's audacity. "So, you think it will be fun to play the game of constructing a telepathic hybrid."

"Well, not me personally." Tuttuhr giggled. "In all honesty, once I got my semen past the tip of my penis, I would not know where to begin in making a hybrid." Tuttuhr reached down and lifted the hem of her skirt, revealing her erect penis in all its golden glory. "The Fwai-chi assure me that what they have come up with will bring much joy to Grean." Tuttuhr pulled a bottle of lubricant out of her back pocked, put some on the palm of her hand and vigorously stroked her stiff little penis. Having heard from Rau about the ritualistic way that each new copy of Grean was welcomed to Alastor Cluster, Tut had planned ahead, imagining how to make certain that her first sexual encounter with Grean would go smoothly. Now oiled up, her yellow penis gleamed radiantly in the rather harsh light of Delpha's workshop. Tut handed the bottle to Rau and told Delpha. "Now I'm quite ready to party with the new Grean."

As first seen in the Ekcolir Reality.
New Grean on the planet Wyst.
An image made with YennBlake & this by
Eclesi4stiK available under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.

Delpha said, "Hold on just one moment" Delpha bent down and kissed Tuttuhr's cute penis while she quickly looked into the future and then said, "Interesting. Now I wish I knew how the Fwai-chi were able to find this low probability future. I approve." Then, without further delay, Delpha teleported the new copy of Grean into the room. 

New Grean was naked when she appeared and seemed pale compared to the just-departed old version of Grean. This young version of Grean had grown up on an artificial world where her body had never been exposed to sunlight and her lightly pigmented skin had never tanned. Delpha placed her hands on Grean's shoulders and said, "Grean my darling, Tuttuhr has a small surprise for you." Delpha took her hands off of Grean, intentionally brushing her fingers across Grean's soft breasts and then turned her attention to Rau. Delpha deftly pulled off Rau's shirt and kissed her breasts.

Tuttuhr approached Grean from behind, reached around and put her hands on Grean's perky breasts which Tuttuhr massaged delicately while noticing that they were easily twice as big as Old Grean's breasts. Grean's nipples promptly stiffened and popped erect. Then Tut let her hands slide down until they found Grean's second row of nipples, which Tuttuhr playfully tweaked. Tuttuhr bent her knees slightly and her penis slid between Grean's legs. Looking down at herself, Grean asked Delpha, "Why are you now using the four nipple version of my body?" Tuttuhr let her hands go lower and she stroked Grean's labia. Slipping a finger into Grean's genital groove, Tuttuhr was pleased to discover that Grean's two vaginas were already oozing copious amounts of her natural Kac'hin lubricating fluids.

Delpha had quickly pulled down Rou's skirt, letting it fall to the floor and then began to methodically stroke Rau's genital groove with her finger tips. Speaking over her shoulder to Grean, she explained, "During the next several decades I'll be rather aggressively increasing the use of Asterothrope gene patterns in the Cluster and spreading the idea that Asterothropes had telepathic abilities. It will be useful for you to show off your own Asterothrope-derived phenotypic features. Call your extra nipples a teaching tool for the humans."

Rau's penis popped out and quickly swelled to full size in response to Delpha's telepathic influence and the warm, gentle touches of her fingers. Delpha applied some of the lubricant to Rau's penis. In addition to oil, the lubricant contained several chemicals that would enhance the sexual performance of Grean and amplify her sexual pleasure.

Delpha reduced the gravity inside the workshop and Tuttuhr lifted Grean off her feet. As Grean slowly settled back towards the floor, she came down upon the erect penises of both Rau and Tuttuhr. Grean gave a small squeal of delight as both her vaginas were filled with hot penises. Delpha told Grean, "You will have two children, my dear, forming a key part of a nanocoid-linked octet."

Rau and Tuttuhr were now rather comically bouncing Grean up and down with their thrusting erections. Suspecting that she was expected to do all the "work" of creating the new octet, Grean tried to speak, "Eight... orgasms? Ah, eight nano..." She touched the stiffening glans of her clitoris which, even when not erect, was significantly larger than it had been in her previous body and asked Delpha, "Why... eight nanocoid-linked embryos?" She gave up trying to speak and gave in the the pleasure of the moment. She achieved an orgasm and cried out in pleasure. Her clitoris had two separate sets of erectile tissue and after Rau and Tuttuhr both ejaculated their hot semen into her vaginas, Grean allowed her secondary erectile tissue to fill with blood. Her clitoral glans swelled to penis size and the part of her clitoris in the walls of her vaginas enlarged and gently pushed the two erections of Rau and Tuttuhr out of her body. Grean settled to the floor and was now eager to make use of her penis.

Trullion

Delpha brought the room's artificial gravity field back up to near normal and activated the workshop's giant video display screen and said, "This is Tingo Drosset, a Trevanyi on planet Trullion." Grean watched as Tingo waved her hand past a candle, casting a flickering shadow on the wall of her tent. A moment later, her lover arrived and took Tingo in his arms. Tingo extinguished the candle. Delpha told Grean, "In just a moment, Tingo will be relaxed and receptive. She was impregnated two days ago and has an early embryo in her left falopian tube." Delpha waved her hand and sent a cloud of nanites into Grean's body which would assemble into a set of nanocoids. "You can have the pleasure of implanting a nanocoid into Tingo's little embryo."

It did not take long for Tingo's lover to climax and ejaculate into Tingo's tight, hot vagina. A moment later he slipped out of Tingo's tent and ran off into the night. With some infrared enhancement of the video feed, Grean could see the dim form of Tingo, laying on her back and now starting to masturbate. Grean objected, "That cad did not even give Tingo a proper chance to have an orgasm!"

Tingo Drosset

"These two have been sneaking behind the back of Tingo's husband during a clan gathering... Tingo's lover is rightly afraid of getting caught." Delpha gestured towards the displayy screen and shouted, "Now is your chance! Announce yourself as Tingo's ancestral spirit mother." Delpha teleported Grean into the dim confines of Tingo's tent and Grean said, "You are now pregnant, Tingo! The spirits of your ancestors are pleased."

Tingo gasped and sat up, straining in the darkness to see who had spoken. Grean moved between Tingo's legs and rather roughly pushed her flat onto her back. Tingo was trembling; she had never really accepted her tribe's belief in the existence of ancestor spirits. Some of Rau's rather runny semen oozed out from Grean's back vagina and flowed downward along her thigh. Ignoring all distractions and endeavoring to play her role as a mythical figure of Trevanyi superstition, Grean told Tingo, "As your spirit ancestor, I've had to watch your sex play and your lusty copulations... now it is my turn! Just relax my child." 

Making use of her brain activity-modifying infites and her hot penis, Grean quickly brought Tingo to a sweet climax. With her penis deep inside Tingo's vagina, Grean carefully extended her blastipositor out the tip of her penis and through Tingo's cervix. The blastipositor then navigated itself on towards the embryo that was far up in Tingo's reproductive tract. Grean felt herself close to ejaculating and tried to delay her sexual reflex. She asked, "Do you have a name for this child?"

teleportation

With the help of Grean's infites, Tingo had recovered from her initial fright. She reached out and felt Grean's breasts. Startled, she whispered, "What kind of ghost are you? Breasts and a penis?"

Grean ejaculated and for a time her pleasure was so intense that she could not speak; now she rapidly slid her penis in and out, maximizing the pleasure of her orgasm. The tip of the searching blastipositor had located Tingo's embryo and it quickly extracted the DNA from one of the embryo's cells. Determining the sex of the embryo did not take more than a fraction of a second. Grean slowed the pace of her penis sliding in and out of Tingo's vagina, used the memory-altering infites to edit out Tingo's alarm at Grean's hermaphroditic anatomy and finally she replied, "I will watch over your daughter. Tell me her name."

"You are certain I will bear a girl?"

"Yes." Grean had now transferred the nanocoid into the embryo.

Written in the Asimov Reality.
Duissane "on" Yrinna.
Original cover art by Johannes Bruck

"Then she is Duissane."

Grean pulled her penis out of Tingo and then paused to kiss Tingo's stiff clitoris before she was teleported off of Trullion. Grean was back in Delpha's workshop and the scene on the display screen had shifted to a starshine-lit lake. 

Delpha said, "This is the planet Wyst." Grean saw a woman swimming slowly at the surface of the water, then she noticed that the swimmer was being watched by a man standing on the nearby shore. 

Tuttuhr was fondling Grean's penis and now she took it into her mouth, enjoying the spicy taste of Grean's semen. Grean was intently watching the images from Wyst. Where he stood under the bright starshine of Alastor Cluster, Grean could see that the man's penis was erect and pointed towards the sparkling stars above. He dove into the water and soon the couple embraced and kissed. A moment later, the woman walked through the warm water to the grassy bank and lowered herself into the sweet grass, her feet still in the water. 

Next: part 2 of "Meet the Phari" 

visit the Gallery of Movies, Book and Magazine Covers

Gharks and Hoos

cover art by Darrell Sweet

The Alastor star cluster was an invention of Jack Vance. One of the 3,000 inhabited planets of Alastor cluster is Marune. In his novel, Marune: Alastor 933, Vance introduced us to Efraim, ruler of the Rhune realm of Scharrode.

The ending of Marune: Alastor 933 is a tease; we are left wondering about the futures of Efraim and Maerio. Efraim and Maerio have been happily united as a Trismet, the closest Rhune equivalent of a married couple, but their future is uncertain. At the end of Vance's story, Maerio asks, "Will we be content to live as Rhunes?"

Fan Fiction Disease

source

I've previously imagined events on Marune and in Alastor cluster that take place after the events described by Vance in Marune: Alastor 933. The idea is that Alastor cluster was a kind of gigantic genetics workshop where a concerted effort was made to find human gene combinations that would allow humans to take control of the Bimanoid Interface.

If Efraim carries a special set of genes that allow him to make use of his Phari ensosymbiont, then there must also be an interesting story that explains the origin of Efraim and his special genetic endowment. I like to imagine that this is a story that was first told in the Ekcolir Reality.....

Gharks and Hoos

in the Ekcolir Reality

Efraim stood on the Grand Balcony of Seilneuthur Keep and rested a hand on the crumbling stone of the parapet. Beyond the Keep was a high, almost hidden nook of the green valley of Scharrode. A wall of snow-crusted peaks lay before Efraim, providing a bright backdrop to one of the many lovely places in the Rhune realm that would, at some time in the future, be his to command and lead.

Efraim did not like to think about the approaching time when he would become the 80th Kaiark of the realm. That would be the day of the death of Jochaim, Efraim's father.

Efraim had been a frequent visitor to Seilneuthur Keep ever since he had first discovered its hidden importance and learned of its secret function. In a cavern below the Keep was the factory where gliders were manufactured for the warriors of Scharrode.

Seilneuthur Keep was well-haunted, a home to thousands of ghosts. Those ghosts were all that remained of the many men who had, down through the centuries, given their lives to defend this fortress. Only a very few of those dead soldiers, the Kangs and Kaiarks, had ever known the full strategic importance of Seilneuthur Keep. Efraim imagined that he could feel the eyes of those ghosts glancing at him and peering over his shoulders.

Two years previously, the Kaiark Jochaim had told Efraim the truth about the hidden function of Seilneuthur Keep, but he had not revealed to Efraim the secret entrance to the glider factor. Efraim had spent much time unsuccessfully searching for a way into the hidden cavern below the Keep, and now he was resigned to waiting just a few more days until the time when he was scheduled to receive from Jochaim his first briefing as an adult Kang of the realm. Efraim's thoughts swirled with wonder and expectation at the many secrets of the realm he would learn from his father. Somewhat nervous over the prospects of soon having to take on adult responsibilities, Efraim had come to the remote Seilneuthur Keep in order to enjoy some peace and quiet away from the bustling activity of Benbuphar Strang and preparations for the investiture ceremony that would formalize his rank as Kang of the realm.
 

Suddenly, Efraim heard a familiar voice in his mind: "I've already given you hints about the general nature and scope of the secrets that Jochaim has yet to reveal to you." Efraim spun around, looking for his ghark. In the distance he could see several watchmen on their patrols, but no wobbly apparition. "I'm right here."

Efraim turned and saw the ghark, floating in midair just beyond the parapet. Her pointy teeth glistened like icicles and the wind seemed to stretch and smear the magical material of her body. Her lips never moved when she spoke: her thoughts penetrated directly into Efraim's brain. Efraim knew that he need not speak, but he felt it was important to emphasize the fact that he was a man, a corporeal being, so he spoke out-loud to the ghark. Efraim asked, "Why must you disturb me now, O wicked beast of the fo mur?"

The ghark was amused by Efraim's name-calling. "Just the usual, my lad. I've been watching your future and I'm forced to make another correction to your life."

Long ago, Efraim had tried to tell his mother, Alferica, about the ghark. She had warned him not to speak of gharks and hoos and to shun them when they appeared. She had said, "If you ignore a ghark then it will stop bothering you." Then Alferica had died and his ghark was able to bring Efraim news from Alferica's ghost. Given that tenuous connection to his mother, Efraim never learned to shun his ghark. In fact, he had come to view her as a kind of muse or guardian angel. He proudly proclaimed, "There's nothing wrong with my life."

The ghark smiled indulgently at Efraim. "Of course, you cannot possibly know what problems will soon arise. Five days hence, your father will show you how to enter into the glider factory that lies hidden below your feet."

Efraim suggested, "You could show me the secret entrance today."

"I could, but then Jochaim would have to waste time and effort moving the entrance out of fear that it is too easy to find." The floating wisps of the ghark snuggled close to Efraim and he felt her fluid-like touch; something that seemed to penetrate the skin and directly stimulate hidden nerves below. "You must ask your father about the link between Seilneuthur Keep and Cloudscape Castle, the home of your mother."

Efraim tried to imagine what that link might be, but his imagination faltered. "Why must you play these games? Just tell me now. Do you know some secret about my mother?"

The ghark pulled back and began to dissipate on the breeze. "One day I will tell you how your mother died and why."

Efraim shouted at the departing apparition, "Tell me now!"

A nearby guard heard Efraim's shout and sauntered by. He asked, "Is all well, my Lord?"

Somewhat embarrassed, Efraim asked the man, "Do you ever hear voices up here?"

The patrol guard was well past middle age. He set his heavy pike down, leaning it against the parapet and turned his weathered face towards the snow-covered peaks. He inhaled a deep breath and said, "I smell ghark."

Efraim said, "You know me; I am Efraim, your Kang. What is your name?"

The man replied, "I am Nebrin, of the Haulk clan."

Efraim half leaned, half sat against the parapet. "How long have you been stationed here?"

Nebrin replied, "Half a year, since I was transferred in from the Airline patrol squad." He smacked at his right leg, "I'm getting too old for climbing."

Efraim had just sprinted up the Airline trail that morning. For a moment he tried to imagine a far off future day when such a climb would cause his old joints to protest. "Do you often encounter gharks up here?"

Nebrin shook his head. "More often we are visited by a hoo... they seem to be fascinated by this place. But we must not speak of such things." Nebrin hoisted his pike and marched off on patrol.

Efraim wanted to ask why hoos should visit Seilneuthur Keep, but he decided he should respect the taboos of his people. Efraim decided that he would ask his father about the hoos and why they might be concerned about this particular fortress.
___________________________________

During the next period of Aud, Efraim encountered his father in their shared rooms at Benbuphar Strang. Jochaim sat at a large desk working on his Book of Deeds. Not approaching too near, so as to not risk seeing Jochaim's work, Efraim called out, "Good day, Jochaim."

Jochaim set down his pen and spun his chair. "Ah, Efraim. Where have you been hiding?"

Efraim replied, "I went for a walk. I spent a night at Seilneuthur Keep then came back via the East Ridge."

Jochaim asked, "How go the repairs at Gimwe Ravine?"

"I crossed via the bridge and then wished I hadn't. It is still precarious and less than half repaired."

Jochaim laughed and casually pulled the rolling cover across the work surface of his desk. He rose, stretched and approached his son. "I'd warn you to not take risks, but there's too much of your mother's stubbornness in your blood." For a moment Jochaim reflected on the qualities of Efraim's character: an odd mixture of mischievous curiosity and appreciation for the joy of living boldly in the moment. "Your mother would be ashamed of how I raised you."

Image by Leonardo.

Efraim was no good at keeping secrets. He'd made plans to hold his tongue, but after Jochaim's casual mention of his mother, he blurted out a pointed question, "Did you ever take Alferica to Seilneuthur Keep and show her the sailworks?"

A look of puzzlement came to Jochaim's face. "Why do you ask?"

"Please, father, don't deflect my question with another question. What is the connection between my mother and sail making?"

Jochaim threw himself down in a chair and rested his chin in his hand. "Very well, since you ask, I might as well tell you." He narrowed his eyes and gazed at Efraim until he also took a seat. "As you well know, your mother grew up at Cloudscape Castle, which is situated on the far western boundary of the realms. What you may not know is that her father was a creature with Majar ancestors."

Efraim was certain of his royal Rhune ancestry and startled by the idea that there was Majar blood in his immediate family. He bounced to his feet and shouted, "What?"

Jochaim raised a hand, "Calm yourself. Yes, you are genetically part Majar yourself, Efraim."

Efraim felt his heart racing. He demanded, "How is this possible?"

Jochaim shrugged, "Well, in fact, it all goes back many centuries to when the Connatic established control over Marune and ended the war between the Majars and the Rhunes. The Rhune realms were placed under a strict technological embargo aimed at limiting the available means for mass slaughter. Warfare between the Rhune realms became ritualized and each realm lacks the needed offensive power to conquer its neighbors. There have only been minor territorial changes during the past several centuries."

Efraim knew well the history of his world and he asked impatiently, "What does that have to do with Alferica? Get to the point."

Jochaim explained, "Of course, there has always been a great temptation to skirt the Connatic's law and break the embargo against offensive weapons. The remnants of the Majars have not been averse to helping Rhunes murder each other. Anyhow, down through the years, several Majar scientists worked secretly in the Rhune realms as arms merchants, technologists or scientists and a few of those even managed to father several children with Rhune women. Thus, we Rhunes are not as pure a breed of human as you might previously have imagined."

Efraim shook his head in wonder. "I see. And are you going to tell me that we have a Majar scientist working in the sail factory under Seilneuthur Keep?"

"Well, almost." Jochaim went to a nearby cabinet and slid open a drawer. He pulled out a heavy glass-sealed photograph. "This is one of them, what we call a Tre." He handed the photo to Efraim.

Efraim gazed upon the image: it showed a person who looked rather alien, with large eyes, similar in some ways to those of Efraim's ghark. "A Tre?" Efraim had never heard that term before.

"The Tre are a strange breed...  part Majar, part Rhune, part something else. There are a few small colonies of Tre scattered through the realms. They are all secretive and they do secret scientific work in violation of the embargo. We have a small team of Tre who work at Seilneuthur Keep."

Efraim handed the photograph back to Jochaim. "I don't believe it. How could such a fantastic secret be kept?"

Jochaim placed the photo back in the cabinet and returned to his seat. "I used to ask myself that question, then my ghark explained the mystery to me."

Efraim blurted out, "Your ghark?"

"Relax, Efraim." For a few moments Jochaim examined the nails of one hand, as if he were trying to think of a good way to tell the story of his family's dealings with gharks. Efraim waited impatiently as the seconds dragged slowly by. Finally Jochaim began, "Before she died, your mother told me that you had already met your ghark while you were just a baby. I suspect that many Kang and Kaiarks are haunted by a ghark." Jochaim glanced over his shoulder. "Little is left to chance in the Rhune realms. My ghark is here right now, watching over me."

Efraim looked around the room but could see nothing unusual. Then he sniffed and could detect a subtle scent... something alien. Now that Jochaim had mentioned the possibility, that odor acted on Efraim's mind and suggested the presence of a ghark. "Hallucination?"

Jochaim slowly shook his head. "I long ago gave up trying to understand. Yes, maybe these gharks are entirely in our heads, although some men have claimed to be able to smell them. Olfacotry hallucination? I don't know. Alferica had a theory..."

For a minute, Jochaim sat silently, lost in thought. Efraim sat, locked in anticipation. What other revelations were to come? Finally, Jochaim spoke again, "Alferica said that the Tre had been created as a means to channel some selected genes from the Majar into the Rhune genetic background. Her father had been a Tre and so Alferica called herself a third stage vector. Before she died, she hinted that the real test would come at the fourth stage. By that, she meant you."

Efraim felt offended that his parents had kept such a secret from him for so long. "So, I carry some Majar genes. But what is a 'Majar gene'? We all.... Majars, Rhunes.... everyone in Alastor cluster, we all originated on Earth."

"Alferica imagined that all of Marune was just a small part of a complex human breeding project." Jochaim shook his head in wonder at some old memory. "She blamed the Fwai-chi."

Efraim demanded, "What do the Fwai-chi have to do with it?"

Jochaim shrugged. "I don't know. Alferica would talk for hours about the Tre, gharks, hoo, Fwai-chi and... well, it seemed an endless collection of myth and fantasy. I wish I had paid more attention. For me, the bottom line was that Alferica arranged for some Tre scientists to work at Seilneuthur Keep and start our drone project."

Efraim asked, "Drone?"

"We now have solar-powered unmanned sails, drones, that patrol our boarders, particularly our border with Eccord. Alferica had warned me that Kaiark Rianlle of Eccord had his own way of skirting the Connatic's arms embargo; that's why Eccord is one of the few realms that has managed to grow. Come with me. I was going to wait until next week, but why wait?"

Efraim followed his father into the maze of the castle mirkways. Jochaim paused next to a dimly lit and bare stone wall. Suddenly, part of the wall pulled back, creating a new passage way. Jochaim walked into the black opening and Efraim followed. Efraim saw a faint glow above and they went up a metal spiral stairway. At the top of the stairs was a locked door that opened when Jochaim pressed his hand to the door handle.

Efraim found himself in a small room lit with the glow of a dozen video displays. In the display images, Efraim could see various views of the border between Scharrode and Eccord, some obviously originating from an aircraft high above the ridgeline. Jochaim spoke to the person who sat in front of the display console, "Ki-tee! Meet Kang Efraim."

With mechanically precise movements, Ki-tee turned and looked at Efraim. In the dim illumination, Efraim could see what looked like large Tre eyes staring at him. Jochaim explained to Efraim, "This is a robot. A mechanical man." Jochaim spoke again to the robot, "Ki-tee! You will now follow the orders of Efraim, just as you follow my orders."

Ki-tee spoke with an air of boredom, "I will warn the Kaiark of Scharrode if forces from Eccord attack."

Jochaim added, "Yes, and you will also give your warnings to the Kang. He now shares my responsibility to defend Scharrode." Jochaim took hold of Ki-tee's hand and pulled a ring off of the robot's finger.

Jochaim led Efraim down the spiral stairs, through the mirk-ways and back to their parlor. Suddenly taking hold of his son's hand, Jochaim slid the ring onto Efraim's finger. "This is a radio-receiver. If Ki-tee detects an incursion from Eccord, he will send a signal, alerting us so that we can mobilize our troops for the defense of Scharrode."

Amazed by what he had seen, Efraim asked numbly, "How did you get a robot here on Marune?"

Jochaim laughed, "For a price, the Majar arms dealers and the Tre can get anything past the Connatic's embargo. Money can move mountains, or at least hide an illegal weapons factory inside one. Actually, Alferica could not fully explain the mysterious origins of the Tre. She warned me to only trust the gharks and to treat hoos as the enemy. Apparently there are two distinct human genetics projects on Marune with one being run by the hoos and involving Eccord and the royal family of Kaiark Rianlle."

Efraim nodded. "I see. So the gharks are our patrons. But why two such secret projects?"

Jochaim shrugged. "There are many mysteries. All I can tell you is what Alferica told me. She believed that eventually the two projects must unite. Each is trying to create a combination of Majar and Rhune genes that will allow for telepathy."

Efraim sank down into a chair, his knees weak and limp. "Telepathy?"

Jochaim paced across the floor in front of his son. "Alferica claimed that the Fwai-chi will detect any telepathic humans that are bred on Marune. Just before she died, Alferica told me that it was her hope that you would father children by Kaiark Rianlle's daughter, Maerio. She thought that your children might have telepathic powers."

Efraim knew little of Maerio. They had met several times during formal visits between royal families of the realms. Efraim asked with wonder and awe in his voice, "How is it that such secrets are kept? What would prevent me from speaking of this to anyone, even someone like Maerio?"

Jochaim smiled a weary smile. "You will find, as I have, that you are unable to speak freely to anyone about the gharks and the Tre. In my past experience, the only exception has been for others who already know the secret, but I'm pleased that today I had no trouble telling you. Now, Efraim, there are other secrets that I must share with you. The most important of these is our clan's ancient pact with the Fwai-chi..."

________________________________

Later, after sharing all of the Kaiarkical secrets with Efraim, Jochaim took Efraim to Seilneuthur Keep and showed him the devious entry way to the underground sail factory. Efraim was introduced to the Tre who built and repaired drones for Scharrode: two middle aged Tre and a squad of Tre robots who were programmed to do the careful manufacturing work. Efraim studied the two Tre with fascination, gazing into their large, inhuman eyes.

Jochaim was in a hurry to return to Benbuphar Strang, but Efraim told his father that he wanted to stay at Seilneuthur Keep for another day and study the drone-making process. As Jochaim set off towards Benbuphar Strang along the Airway trail, Efraim went out on the balcony where a few days previously he had last been visited by his ghark. He spoke to the wind: "Why did my mother have to die?"

His ghark appeared, seemingly standing beside Efraim on the balcony. She replied, "I think you can guess."

Efraim had long felt another whispering voice in the back of his mind, distinct from the ghark. He muttered, "Somehow I've never believed in telepathy."

The ghark tried to explain, "More accurately, you cannot be allowed to believe in human telepathy. However, I can tell you about telepathy... you simply will not be allowed to remember what I tell you. There are multiple channels of telepathic communication. Your brain is tuned for one such channel, a channel that is different from that used by the Fwai-chi, and also somewhat different from that used by Maerio."

Efraim asked excitedly, "Maerio is telepathic?"

"You and she can only communicate subliminally, at a subconscious level. In any case, such technology-assisted telepathy is only a side-effect of other brain processes that are the real reason why you two were created."

A realization came to Efraim. "You could not allow me to be distracted by a sibling who shared my telepathic channel. So, Alferica had to die."

The ghark explained, "There are easier ways to prevent siblings from being born, as was done for Maerio. In your case, we could not allow you to grow to adulthood and be seen side-by-side with Alferica."

Efraim felt a chill run up his back, but he had to know why. "Why so?"

"We needed a male version of Alferica to pair with Maerio. You are a clone of Alferica, with just a small chromosome swap."

Efraim knew just enough about genetics to understand what he was being told. The ghark continued, "To create you, we used Jochaim's Y chromosome and we also provided you with a copy of your father's zeptite endosymbiont, so you are a mixture of Jochaim and Alferica... just mostly Alferica. It is startling how much you resemble her." The ghark began to fade away, slowly becoming transparent.

Efraim knew that the ghark was ready to depart. He demanded, "Wait! You and these Tre... you're no hybrid of Majar and Rhune. Who... what are you?"

investigating the Kac'hin

"I am a Kac'hin. We Kac'hin are an ancient device for processing genes. We created the Tre as a useful mixture of Majar, Rhune and Hui-chi genes. Of course, no human can be allowed to know of such things, so you will be made to forget all of this."

The ghark drifted upwards, rising above the stone parapet. "Anyhow, 'death' is actually a relative term. Alferica was removed from Marune, but her genome is useful. New versions of Alferica will be created on other worlds. And her replicoid is still here with me, in the Hierion Domain. She's waiting to see her grandchildren. Now, I must go... and you must forget most of what I have told you."

Efraim watched the ghark disintegrate and fade away and he savored the odd aroma that lingered in her wake. He was left thinking of Maerio and wondering what he would be allowed to say to her the next time that they met.

Related Reading: Meet the Phari and The Alastor Network

Next: a short search in Deep Time

visit the Gallery of Book and Magazine Covers

2 Endosymbionts Are Better Than 1

Fwai-chi

Back in 2012 I began toying with the idea that the Fwai-chi of planet Marune once had a technologically advanced civilization. Here is an intriguing fact about the Fawi-chi:

"... they can taste a dead man's blood and cite all the circumstances of his death."

Last year I suggested the idea that the Fwai-chi could access information within the Sedronic Domain. However, for The League of Yrinna, I've recently decided that the Phari are responsible for the various humanoid species who populate Alastor Cluster and the Phari are masters of the Hierion Domain. Rather than have sedronic endosymbionts, I now imagine that the Phari provide species such as the Fwai-chi with hierion-based endosymbionts that are composed of femtobots rather than zeptites.

femtobot endosymbionts

The Fwai-chi are endowed by their femtobots with seemingly magical abilities. I've been imagining that most humans in Alastor Cluster contain pek endosymbionts and I've been thinking that those endosymbionts could be "swapped" for Phari endosymbionts. However, why should it be just one type of endosymbiont or the other?

If both a Phari ensosymbiont and a pek endosymbiont can exist together inside a person, then we can imagine interesting interactions between these two types of endosymbiont. If Earthlings have been genetically adapted to match their pek endosymbionts, then the Phari would have to work long and hard to alter the gene combinations of humans who live in Alastor Cluster in an attempt to allow Phari endosymbionts to functionally displace pek endosymbionts.

cover art by Edward Palfrey

How does Glisten discover the existence of Phari endosymbionts? Glisten was sent to planet Marune as part of Jantiff's cover story: he is pretending to be a scholar and an instructor at the University in Port Mar.

Glisten is one of the "witches" of Wyst. I imagine that they have no need to talk because they have Phari endosymbionts that provide them with a form of technology-assisted telepathy.

cover art by Stephen Fabian

I imagine that the Rhunes long ago became hosts for Phari endosymbionts. What if Efraim's "first dose" of Fwai-chi shag "disconnected" him from his Phari endosymbiont, causing disruption of his memories?

Later, when the "second Fwai-chi drug" given to Efraim, I imagine that it might have "connected him up" to his pek endosymbiont, allowing him access to a "recording" of memories that exists in the Sedronic Domain.

"The Potters of Firsk" by Stephen Fabian

The basic idea is that the Phari, while trying to attain their goal linking human brains to a "hierion tube", have also solved the problem of how to provide Earthlings with a functional Bimanoid Interface. Phari endosymbionts can be used as "adapters" that give human brains the ability to use the Bimanoid Interface.

About that Amazing cover art for Marune (shown above)... Just to help wash that mage out of your visual cortex, here (image to the right) is "The Potters of Firsk".

Next: X nanite monsters

visit the Gallery of Book and Magazine Covers